Snakes in the Cellar
A merchant adventurer and old friend to our heroes had gone missing at an unfortunate time, and so our heroes set off to find what had happened to him, and got embroiled in a yuan-ti plot. Background After successfully conquering the Emperor of the Waves and salvaging the fortune of Aubreck Drallion and Manthalay Meravanchi, our heroes had a new task. Meravanchi was reestablishing his old trading company, and wanted the investment and expertise of his friend Kallum Vanderboren in doing this. However, Kallum had not been heard from for many months, having retreated to his plantation at Saint Theodore Abbey. Wanting to find his friend, Manthalay sent word to several notable local adventurers offering them pay for contacting Kallum and finding out what had happened to his previous messengers. Synopsis Chapter 1: Through Mud and Jungle Our heroes met at Manthalay's house and, after agreeing terms, set off south towards Sasserine's plantations. On the way through the marshes, they were ambushed by the Trub Glorp Tribe led by Bua Gorg, who was keen for revenge. The bullywugs failed, and our heroes carried on for several days, braving jaguars and belligerent plantation owners to eventually reach St. Theodore. Chapter 2: Demon on the Loose At the plantation, our heroes were met by a pleasant young woman who assured them that she was a servant of Kallum Vanderboren named Saskia. However, after leading them to the damaged sitting room, she slammed the door and signalled for a hidden demon to attack. The babau fought ferociously, and with the newly-revealed yuan-ti pureblood, tore several holes in our heroes. Eventually, against all odds, our heroes overcame the babau and the yuan-ti, rescuing Woadnaz the sorcerer and Denrim the rogue in the process. They balked at the prospect of fighting an Otyugh, and after having explored other areas of the abbey, they trapped a magical snake in the master's bedroom. Chapter 3: The Crypts Our heroes travelled down to the crypts beneath the abbey, where they trapped two more vipers in a well. They also awoke the spirit of the mad monk, a crypt warden who was guarding the bodies of St. Cuthbert's faithful. Having neutralised him and repaired the tombs desecrated by the yuan-ti, they questioned their magical snake and found that Vanderboren had fled to the paupers' crypt. Chapter 4: The Paupers' Graves In the paupers' crypt, our heroes fought the bulk of the yuan-ti, killing 4 purebloods, 3 half-bloods and an abomination and nearly succumbing themselves. They then figured out the puzzle of the Avenger, and successfully opened the way to the hidden tombs. Chapter 5: The Hidden Tombs Our heroes discovered the tomb of Alessia Meravanchi, an explorer from a different age. After many arguments over the rights and wrongs of robbing her tomb, they then discovered an even older tomb of the ogre priest Mextli, who had secreted a black pearl away from the ruin of Thanaclan. After a bizarre conversation with a raven, our heroes subdued a half-mad old man who turned out to be Kallum Vanderboren. Thankful for their intervention, he promised to return to Sasserine. Aftermath Our heroes had triumphed against the yuan-ti, and returned to Sasserine. There Manthalay Meravanchi paid them for their work, and the Metropolitan of Sasserine, Darius Balthazar, agreed to investigate the demonic menace. Things would take a strange twist, however, when our heroes came across a body in an alleyway, and the intelligent sword whom he wielded. Cast of Characters Allies *Manthalay Meravanchi *Kallum Vanderboren Enemies *Bua Gorg *Trub Glorp Tribe *"Saskia" Popolotec *Camactli Other NPCs *Leukon Carloman Monsters *Bullywugs *Jaguars *Demons *Babaus *Yuan-Ti *Yuan-Ti Purebloods *Otyughs *Vipers *Crypt Wardens *Yuan-Ti Halfbloods *Yuan-Ti Abominations Locations *Rythiae *New World *Argyria *Mocotan Region *Mocotan Jungle *Saint Theodore Abbey Category:Adventure Category:Homebrew Adventure Category:Rise of Sasserine